Scientists only began studying lucid dreaming in the twentieth century, while world religions have emphasized the importance of this phenomenon in their doctrines for a much longer period of time. The influence of these tradition practices of phase states on the development of the current lucid dreaming trend is described in a recently published analytical article by scientists from Brazil with Kelly Bulkeley from the USA.
Some of the earliest mentions of lucid dreams are found in Hindu manuscripts dating back over 2,000 years ago, which divide consciousness into the categories of wakefulness, dreams (including lucid dreams), and deep sleep. In the Buddhist tradition, Tibetan monks have been practicing Dream Yoga – a meditation technique that teaches practitioners to recognize dreams, overcome fears through lucid awareness, and control the content of dreams – for centuries.
In the Islamic scriptures, lucid dreaming is seen as a revered state of mind and a special way for initiates to achieve mystical experiences. In turn, Christian theologian Augustine Hippopotamus (AD 354–430) refers to lucid dreams as a kind of preview of the afterlife, during which the soul is separated from the body.
Having analyzed the various references to lucid dreaming in world religions, the scientists note that monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) recognize dreams as a way of communicating with God in order to understand the present and predict the future. Traditional Indian religions (Buddhism and Hinduism), on the other hand, are more interested in cultivating self-awareness, studying and developing special techniques for induction into the phase state and sleep observation.
Indian religions can thus offer important insights for modern practitioners of the phase state and for the scientific study of lucid dreams. Meanwhile, other religions refer to this phenomenon as “divine dreams,” assigning them the role of sacred knowledge, accessible to few.
The article was published in October 2020 in the magazine Frontiers in Psychology.
